Mathews upbeat about Sri Lanka's chances in tri-series

After their semi-final exit at the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka will continue to play good cricket in the upcoming tri-series involving host West Indies and India, says their ODI captain Angelo Mathews.

Sri Lanka and West Indies will lock horns in tournament's opener on Friday at the Sabina Park and Mathews said his team had been playing good cricket and the upcoming series will be no different. "We have played some really good cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy, beating England and Australia to reach the semi-final and so the confidence is pretty high," Mathews told The Gleaner after his team's arrival on Monday.

Sri Lanka will continue to play good cricket in the upcoming tri-series involving host West Indies and India, says their captain Mathews.

"West Indies and India are two very good teams in the shorter format of the game and I think that we really need to play some really good cricket to win against them," Mathews continued.

Talking specifically about West Indies, Mathews said. "West Indies are a strong team when it comes to the shorter format of the game and so we need to be on our guard from ball one and also we need to play some good cricket to beat them."

Sri Lanka have made two changes to their squad that played in England recently. While batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan is given rest after he suffered a calf injury in last Thursday semi-final loss to India, allrounder Thisara Perera has been dropped from the 15-man squad. Mathews said tri-series is a good opportunity for the youngsters to stake a claim. "It's unfortunate that Dilshan picked up an injury, but it is a good opportunity for our youngsters to try and prove themselves," Mathews said.